She caused something of a stir last week after appearing to admit to a string of relationships with women.

Now Cate Blanchett, the Oscar-winning actress, has insisted no one should be remotely interested in her sexuality, as she laments the modern obsession with gay people having to constantly talk about their private lives.

Blanchett, who stars as a mother who falls in love with another woman in Todd Haynes's new film, 'Carol', said: "In 2015, the point should be: who cares?"

Appearing at Cannes, the actress clarified that she had not had sexual encounters with women in the past, after telling a magazine she had had "many" relationships with people of her own sex.

She co-stars with Rooney Mara in the film, which includes an explicit love scene.

Blanchett sought to explain an interview she gave to 'Variety' magazine last week, in which she was reported as saying she had had been in relationships with women "many times".

"From memory, the conversation ran: 'Have you had relationships with women?' I said: 'Yes, many times, but if you mean have I had sexual relationships with women, the answer is no'," she said. "In 2015, the point should be: who cares?"